5.56 Milsurp: Radway Green, IMG or LC?

I recently got my first AR, and need to buy some ammo for it. I've heard good things about both British Radway Green, and Guatemalan IMG. Both are available from several sources right now, at pretty comparable prices. In addition, Ammoman has recent Lake City bulk pack labeled "practice only" for a little more money. Based on what I've experienced with 7.62x51 Lake City bulk (it's sold off as practice ammo for a reason -- it failed several levels of QC), I'm leaning toward the RG or IMG. Which would you get, and why?

You have to remember the Radway stuff didn't fail any QC. It's the same exact ammo the Brits get for resupply in the field. This is good ammo, and has shot beautifully for me in three ARs.

hso

September 8, 2006, 10:50 AM

I have not shot any of the Guatemalan ammo, but the other 2 have performed well in my ARs.

Andras

September 8, 2006, 11:21 AM

The RG has been working just fine in mine.

Limey46

September 8, 2006, 11:32 AM

The RG is far, FAR superior to either of the others.

cmidkiff

September 8, 2006, 11:33 AM

I've bought one box of the LC green tip practice stuff... it was fine, but I did run into a few shells that were deformed badly enough to prevent chambering, and accuracy was _terrible_. Doesn't seem to be as available as it was a while back...

I picked up a case of the Brit stuff at a gun show recently, so far it seems like good stuff, I'll probably be buying more of it.

Not on your list, but I shoot quite a bit of the steel cased wolf .223, as well. I hear it can wear your extractor, but I've never had a problem with it. Quality is much better than the LC practice rounds.

Gun Wielding Maniac

September 8, 2006, 12:07 PM

The grade 2 Guat surplus is the best deal running in .223 right now, as far as I'm concerned. I bought 2 cases of it. It has run flawlessly out of an SAM-5 and an AR. Good stuff. Good price.

Fosbery

September 8, 2006, 12:18 PM

I've used RG for years and years. Great stuff.

Father Knows Best

September 8, 2006, 12:21 PM

I've bought one box of the LC green tip practice stuff... it was fine, but I did run into a few shells that were deformed badly enough to prevent chambering, and accuracy was _terrible_.

Yeah, that's been my experience with the LC 7.62x51, too. OAL was all over the place due to wildly inconsistent bullet seating depth, and quite a few cases had dents. I read somewhere that there are essentially three quality levels of LC product, and the bulk pack ammo on the surplus market is there because it failed all of the government's quality checks. I believe it.

ny32182

September 8, 2006, 02:18 PM

There is actually a review thread on AR15.com about the RG stuff, saying that the powder and resultant pressure curve in those rounds is tweaked for the Britsh rifles, and that some people have had problems running it in an AR15. They had a pole, where the results were about 80/20 favoring good performance, but 20% of people being displeased still sounds bit high to me. I'm still tempted to buy a can to try out.

Master Blaster

September 8, 2006, 04:06 PM

I have fired about 600 rounds of the radway geen from AIM out of two different AR-15s with no problems and excellent accuracy. The RG I bought was on stripper clips in Battle packs. The newer radway green that AIM is selling is loose in the can per their site, I dont know if its different stuff.

m39fan

September 8, 2006, 04:07 PM

Don't forget that you're talking about two different bullet weights here. If you are using optics, you'll want to standardize on one or the other unless you like rezeroing. The M855/SS109 (Radway Green, most of the LC around here) have 62gr steel core projectiles. The M193 (IMG, some LC/Federal) uses a lead core 55gr projectile. That being said, both the IMG and RG have done well for me in my AR and SU-16. The choice is yours. Find what works best for you and your weapon and then QUICKLY buy as much of it as you can as ALL brands are (seemingly) drying up! :mad:

Hope this helps,
Mike

Bartholomew Roberts

September 8, 2006, 10:54 PM

I've shot all three - Radway Green, IMG and the Federal XM193PD (which is pretty much what the "Practice Only" is).

In fact, I just gave away about 450 rounds of the XM193PD to a reloader to break down for components after I had 5 squib loads in two magazines, including one that I had to drive out of a high-end barrel with a rod and hammer. Since I don't enjoy throwing $90 worth of ammo in the trash, you can pretty much guess my opinion of the Federal stuff.

I've had good luck with both the Radway Green and IMG stuff though. The IMG isn't pretty but seems to shoot well. The only issues I have is most of the local ranges do not like the steel penetrator in the RRORG being used on their rifle steel, so I ended up going with the IMG.

The IMG is dirty and doesn't look pretty but it functions well and accuracy is typical for 55gr military ammo (about 3-4MOA for 10rd groups out to 300yds). The IMG is also pretty hot.